1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device to remove a fishhook from a fish. More specifically, this invention relates a device that permits an angler to remove a fishhook from the mouth of a fish without having to grasp the fish within his hand.
2. Description of Related Art
When fishing, it is desirable to have a means to extract a hook from a fish""s mouth without having to have to physically touch the fish. Removal of a fishhook from the mouth of a fish presents several risks to an angler. In order to remove the hook, the angler must place his hand in close proximity to a fish""s mouth. Several species of fish has extremely sharp teeth and can cause an injury to the angler. Another hazard is from the hook itself. In angler is not always capable of seeing the exact placement of the hook within the fish""s mouth, then the angler runs a substantial risk of injuring his hand when attempting to remove the hook.
Several species of fish, e.g., catfish, have poisonous spikes or spines that may have an adverse affect on an angler who wrongly comes into contact with the spikes or spines. Fish are typically still alive when first landed, i.e., brought onto dry land. As such, the fish are usually jump and flop around in an attempt to return to the water from which they came. Panfish are difficult to hold after being landed. They are usually very still wet and covered with scales makes it more difficult for an angler to grab a hold the fish firmly. When fish such as catfish are handled, the angler runs the risk of contacting a poisonous spike or spine.
In addition to hazards associated with removal of a hook from a fish""s body, fish shed scales and produce an odor. The scales flake off and will affix to an angler""s article of clothing or the angler""s body itself. The odor will usually affix to anything that comes into contact with the fish, e.g., an angler""s hand, pants, shirts, etc. The odor produced is often difficult to remove after a full day of fishing. When coming home, the angler must scrub his body in order to cleanse himself of the odor. Individuals other than anglers are usually not found of the smell.
Another problem with the prior art is that once the hook has been removed, the fish must still be placed into a container. This would require additional handling of the fish by an angler. It preferable that the fish remain alive while held in the container until such a time when the fish ready to be either thrown back into the water or filleted for cooking or preparation for sale.
It is therefore necessary to have a means of removing a fish from a fishing hook with having to contact the body or article of clothing of an angler. In addition, there exists a need to have a container which can hold the fish and keep them alive once the hook has been removed. The removal of the hook and the temporary container to hold the fish should be integrated into a single device.
The present invention achieves the same or better results of the above described by providing a cooler sized box to hold the fish as well as providing a device to remove the hook with out having an angler coming into contact with a fish.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a device to allows for the efficient removal of a hook from a fish""s mouth. The device permits an angler to place the fish temporarily on device that clamps down on the fish via actuation of a pedal by the angler. The fish is firmly held tightly and an instrument is inserted into the fish""s mouth to remove the hook. The instrument is designed to minimize the damage caused to the fish""s throat area or gills while safely removing the hook.
It is another feature of the invention to provide a vise clamp to hold the fish. The vise clamp of the device includes a pedal that is operably connected to a cantilever runs along the bottom baseboard of the device. When the petal is depressed, the cantilever acts upon a fish on a platform at the opposite end of the device. When the angler releases the pedal, the cantilever releases it hold on the fish.
It is another aspect of the invention to have a live well for holding the fish in the device. Once the hook has been removed, the angler can release the pedal and the fish slides into a well or container within the device automatically. The well is filled with water to permit the fish to breath as if in its natural environment. The water used in this section should be taken from the body of water from which the fish was caught. Use of other water may shock the fish or cause premature death to the fish.
It is another purpose of the invention to provide a tool storage compartment. The tool storage compartment is located above the cantilever that runs along the baseboard. The storage box has a lid that slides over top to ensure tools and miscellaneous items are secured and not loose.
These advantages and other novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.